Page 22 of Here With Me

Sadie flung her arms out to her sides. “Might as well have.”

“I told you I was interested in Costa Rica. That I’d been accepted as a teacher. I wanted you to go with me. You walked away.”

“I needed time to think. Besides, you never invited me to go with you. You just told me you were going, and that was the end of it. I wanted to build a life together. Decide together. You just made a decision and expected me to follow. How was I supposed to know you even wanted me there? You never said as much.”

“I loved you. Of course I wanted you with me.”

She didn’t miss the past tense. He had loved her. He had wanted her. Not now. She might still be attracted to him, but their love was a part of the past and needed to stay there.

She drew a deep, calming breath. “And I loved you and would have followed you anywhere.”

His expression hardened as he took a step toward her, but she took a step back, shaking her head.

Her eyes burned and her throat tightened. She would not cry in front of him.“But I wanted a love that made decisions together. One where we could build a life together. A partnership between two people. And when you left, I realized that maybe I’d been fooling myself all along.”

David stepped back. He jammed a hand into his hair, like the words pained him.

“Is that the kind of love you found with your husband? You can say you loved me, but it certainly didn’t take you long to move on. You have a nine-year-old daughter. We broke up less than ten years ago.”

Seriously? Was he delusional? “Oh, that’s rich. You’re so clueless.”

“Then enlighten me.”

Sadie bit the inside of her jaw to keep the words she’d regret later inside.

Part of her wanted him to think Lottie was hers, thankful that he still felt something toward her, even if it was just betrayal. But he’d learn the truth sooner or later.

And a larger part of her wanted him to know how much he’d hurt her when he’d left. He’d been gone when Lottie was born, but she figured he’d at least heard the news. “I’m adopting Lottie, Bonnie and Jeremy’s daughter, you idiot. Remember their honeymoon baby, who was born three months prematurely?”

Surprise crossed his face, and he walked away from her as he rubbed his chest.

Well, good. No. Wait. That was just petty, but she couldn’t deny that it did give her a little satisfaction that it bothered him.

They’d been maid of honor and best man at Bonnie and Jeremy’s Easter wedding. Just weeks before their own breakup.

David had walked away from more than just Sadie when they broke up. He hadn’t contacted any of their mutual friends, either.

“You’re adopting Jeremy’s little girl?”

“Yes.” Sadie stepped back, crossing her arms and squeezing tight.

“I’m sorry. I was out of line. I heard you were a widow, but I should have known better than to trust the Heritage gossip.” David stepped a little closer, his gaze boring into her. Something akin to relief flashed in his eyes, but it passed before she could be certain.

“I did marry.” Her voice came out thin, and David’s eyes dropped. She waited for him to look up again. “Eighteen months ago. Right after Jeremy was diagnosed with Machado-Joseph disease.”

“You married Jeremy? What happened to Bonnie?” David let out a long, slow breath, like he’d been punched.

“She died in a car accident eight years ago. Which you’d know if you hadn’t cut everyone off. I’d been helping with Lottie since then, and it was the next logical step.”

“Did you love him?” He met her gaze, his heart in his eyes, but she wasn’t doing this again.

“You don’t get to ask me that.”

“Sadie.” A guttural sound. A plea.

Sadie shook her head. “It’s in the past, David. Let’s leave it there.”

The front bell jingled, and Sadie jumped back. She hadn’t realized how close they were standing. She whipped her head around to see her dad walking into the store flipping a key ring around his pointer finger. He’d finally brought her the key to the back room.

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